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Over 30 expo attendees generated considerable discussion at this year’s International Facility Management Association’s Networking and Roundtable Event Wednesday, Feb. 1, where security, utility costs, workplace design, and telecommuting generated considerable interest.
The traditional morning gathering helped kick off the official opening of the 22nd Annual Ohio Design and Construction Expo February 1 and 2 at the Columbus Convention Center in Downtown Columbus. The event played host to some 200 vender exhibits, and featured more than 80 seminars.
With the room packed to near capacity, IFMA members had little trouble finding topics to discuss. Security issues quickly rose to the surface.
According to Edward Johnston, Director of Operations for API Security Services, “Security is constantly changing, but it all comes back to dollars and cents.”
The question was raised whether or not signs must be posted in areas where “fake” cameras are installed for security purposes. While he questioned the effectiveness of fake cameras and the liability they pose to property owners, Johnston said it is legal to post signs advising anyone in the area that they are being video-taped.
Although there are new laws on the books about audio-recording, there are no legal requirements when it comes to signage and video-taping, he said, even if they involve fake cameras.
Security access to sensitive areas also generated considerable discussion at the event. Today, more and more companies are looking into ways to control access in an automated, yet cost-effective way. While turnstile doors are becoming more widely used, suggested some at the roundtable event, they do have some flaws. Weight restrictions, which are supposed to allow just one person through at a time, don’t always work, some suggested. Others utilize card scanners to allow employee access, while others on the market use voice-activation and eye-retinal scans to ferry access.
In fact, Duke and Duchess is expected to test a new concept – using fingerprint access at filling stations to allow customers to pay for their fill-up without using an actual credit card.
Johnston advises that when investing in security, investigate the products available and consider how long they’ve been on the market – and whether or not they have a track-record of working. He suggested that some companies build in a certain number of service calls, as revenue generators. Buyer beware!
Workplace design, and automating the process of redesign, was also a hot topic among roundtable attendees this year. A number of products are currently on the market in order to help facility managers redesign a workspace, or even a whole building, but are available at many different levels.
Some suggested using a simple Excel spreadsheet, although it is not very automated. Other more complicated – and very automated – products are out on the market. But too much automation can also have drawbacks of its own, others offered. CenterStone’s e-CenterOne received high marks among roundtable attendees, as did products from Facility Wizards Software Incorporated. TRIRIGA Facility Management Enterprise, SpringPoint Technologies, and Aperture Facility Management Solutions are other facility management software programs out on the market that also fit the bill, but were un-rated by roundtable attendees.
Utility costs are on the rise, grabbing their share of ink in newspapers and magazines almost daily. The topic did not escape discussion at this year’s roundtable either. And neither did the escalating costs of building materials like steel, lumber, and petroleum.
“It’s almost ‘What’s it going to be this month – or this week’,” said W. Mac Ware, President of Renovators Incorporated.
According to recent statistics, overall project costs are increasing an average of 10 percent a year.
The best advise? If a customer can contractually obligate early, then the contractor can “tie things down,” said Ware, thus locking in on prices and avoiding busting budgets.
Facility managers may also notice an increase in their monthly water bills as a result of a new tax increase tied to Columbus’ 40-year stormwater project. But users can cut as much as 30 percent of the new increase by applying for a tax credit if proper storm controls are in use, one attendee offered.
A number of attendees were also interested in the new Energy Policy Act of 2005 which includes a new tax deduction for expenses incurred by building owners who make improvements in energy efficiency, to include interior lighting, HVAC and hot water systems. For more information about the tax credits, visit http://www.efficientbuildings.org/TEMP/.
Roundtable Co-chair Mariah Liggett began the session with a few announcements, followed by a short presentation by Treasurer Ken Mulligan who recently returned from an IFMA leadership conference in Houston, Texas. He reported that IFMA leaders are looking to make giant strides in three areas of focus: education, improved partnerships with the federal government, and outreach to more foreign facility-based organizations.
Roundtable Co-chair Barry Widder also took about 10 minutes to show the group IFMA’s new organizational video highlighting 25 years of service to the industry.
Liggett was pleased with this year’s event, calling it a success.
“I think there was good, diverse discussion, and it was a robust group in size.”
But she said most importantly, it got people thinking.
“And that’s what it’s intended to do.”